Continued…
After Elliot joined Olivia and everyone in the squad room, they put Billy in a line up for Gladys. She walked to the double mirrored glass with Olivia at her side.
Elliot stood back as he monitored John Buchanan, the defense attorney who was representing Billy.
The man wouldn't shut up, so Olivia wrapped her left arm around Gladys' shoulder.
"Come on, just focus…" She whispered to the younger woman.
"Don't worry young lady, I don't think they'll arrest you…" Buchanan said mischievously.
Gladys turned around quickly. "Why would they arrest me?" She asked in a slight dismay and confusion.
"Well…" Buchanan said. "You are a prostitute…"
Gladys turned to Olivia quickly. "Is he telling the truth? Are you going to arrest me?" She asked hastily.
"No." Elliot piped up quickly from the background.
"No, Gladys." Olivia said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the attorney. "We just need you to identify the man that tried to kill you, I promise." She stressed.
"The police lie all the time…" Buchanan said with a shrug and Gladys glanced behind her to look at him.
Olivia threw him a dirty look and grabbed Gladys by the shoulders, pulling the younger woman closer to her in a protective way and closer to the glass window.
"One more word…" Elliot said, flexing his muscles and getting in the attorney's face. "Just one more word, and I'll collar you for intimidating a witness, I swear."
"I… I don't think I can do this…" Gladys mumbled as she began backing up slowly but Olivia's hold on her was firm and comforting all at the same time.
"Yes, yes you can. Just trust me…" Olivia said in her victim voice. "It's going to be okay. You can do this…" She said as she rubbed her hand up and down the top of Gladys' arm.
Gladys took a deep breath but nodded and Olivia gave her a small smile as she leaned forward to tell each man in line to step forward and say the proper line. Gladys was supposed to identify the man by his voice.
One by one, each man stepped up and said the line specified by Olivia. When they got to the third man, it was Billy and he refused to step for and repeat the line. Instead, he started spewing Bible verses and Gladys instantly recognized his voice. She felt like he was looking directly at her.
"It's him, that's him! I thought you said he can't see me!" Gladys half yelled. "He's staring right at me!" She exclaimed. Then Gladys ran out of the interrogation room in fear.
Olivia called after the young woman but Gladys was fast as she threw open the doors of the stairwell.
Before the seasoned detective could reach her, Gladys tripped and fell down the stairs. Olivia yelled for someone to call a bus and Elliot had been hot on her heels as soon as he made sure Buchanan wasn't following them.
Olivia quickly made her way to the bottom of the steps, calling out Gladys' name but she was unresponsive. Reaching down to check her pulse and body for possible injuries, Olivia stumbled upon something unsuspecting.
"Oh, god. Oh, god!" Olivia exclaimed as she saw their victim's belly. She was pregnant. Who knew how far along but she was showing pretty well.
Elliot was worried about Gladys but he was also worried when he saw the look on Olivia's face. He'd seen it before. There was something in her eyes, like an internal switch had just flipped. Olivia was trying to be present, to be there for the woman before her who still lie unconscious on the cold floor at the bottom of the stairs.
He made his way to Olivia, who was crouched on the ground beside Gladys and her round belly.
"Liv…" Elliot said in a dangerously low tone.
"I know." She whispered back, not daring to tear her eyes away from the young woman.
"You gotta stay with me here, you gotta focus, at least until we can get her to a hospital." He said quietly so no one would over hear him. "You can't check out right now…" Elliot told her, looking at her for confirmation. When she didn't reply, he touched her shoulder gently with one hand.
"I know." Olivia said as she turned to him to make eye contact, to assure him that she was there, that she was present and she wasn't checking out. At least not now, not yet, not until she could be away from everyone, away from the squad where she could have a moment to herself to catch her breath and digest this new development in their case.
Elliot nodded and looked around to make sure no one had come in the stairwell yet, then he leaned forward and kissed her right cheek gently. Olivia closed her eyes at the contact, cursing him for kissing her in this moment. It's not what she wanted or what she needed. It would be the very thing that'd make her break.
"I'm here…" He whispered.
"If you don't want me to shut down right now," she whispered, "Then don't do that agian." Olivia said as she turned her face away from him and back to examine their victim again.
Olivia was trying desperately not to think about what was occurring. She didn't want to think about how this young woman was pregnant and had not had any prenatal care, had been having high-risk sex, and that she was undoubtedly caring a child brought into this world by rape.
Even if the father was one of the sleazy men that paid her, she didn't want to be a prostitute, her pimp was forcing her to do it, along with raping her himself, probably weekly if not more. There was no doubt that this child was a product of rape.
She stayed with Gladys until the paramedics arrived. They put Gladys on a stretcher and took her to the ambulance so they could go to the hospital.
Cragen commanded for Olivia and Elliot to meet her at the hospital. After all, they were really the only ones that cared about Gladys right now. Her aunt sure as hell wasn't going to make a trip to the ER. In fact, she'd probably complain about it, then complain about the pregnancy if she found out, then she'd complain about their money problems.
"Let me hit the restroom then we'll head out…" She threw her words at Elliot then walked swiftly towards the lady's room.
Fin had watched the whole exchange. He could tell when Olivia was off kilter. He didn't always comment on it because he wasn't her partner and sometimes it wasn't his place, but he could almost always tell.
"She okay?" Fin asked as he approached Elliot from behind with his hands in his pockets.
Elliot huffed. "Gladys is pregnant." He stated, giving Fin a look.
"Rape baby." Fin commented and Elliot nodded his head. "I'ma go check on her." He said.
"I wouldn't." Elliot replied, giving Fin a look.
"I know, that's why I'm gonna do it." He said, throwing Elliot a dirty look. Elliot only exhaled and sat down at his desk, pretending to focus on paper work until his partner came out of the restroom and was ready to leave. He couldn't tell Fin the reason he couldn't go check on Olivia was because he would have the overwhelming urge to kiss her until she was okay, and to hold her until she was calm and collected.
They had a bad reputation for fucking things out when one of them needed stress relief after a hard case and even though this case wasn't anywhere near over, if Elliot walked into that bathroom and Olivia asked him to get her off, he'd drop to his knees instantly and get to work on her.
…
"Baby girl, I'm comin' in!" Fin announced semi loudly. He knew he didn't need to say who it was, he was the only one who ever called Olivia 'Baby girl'. He could hear the sink running from outside the door, which signaled that she wasn't in a stall. If he had thought she was truly using the bathroom, he wouldn't have entered.
"Fin," She said while splashing her face with water, "There could have been other women in here…"
They both knew it was a lie and he called her out on it.
"You're the only female that works in our squad… the female officers passin' through rarely use this bathroom." He said as he made his way over to her and parked himself to her left, turning around and leaning his ass against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. "You wanna talk?"
"No." She said sharply as she reached to grab a paper towel then blotted the cold water off her face so she didn't mess up her makeup, or what was left of it anyways.
He nodded.
"That's okay…" He said. "Just wanna make sure that you remember I got your back…" Looking at her with caring and concerning eyes. He did have her back and would for the rest of her life. Fin was that type of man. Once you made it into his circle, you usually didn't leave it unless something drastic happened.
Olivia leaned up, propped her hands on the edge of the counter to brace herself and looked at herself in the mirror.
"I know." She replied as nonchalantly as she could.
She was sizing herself up, analyzing herself like no one should do. When she was forced to look or see at children of rape, especially babies not born yet, it made her think about her life and herself, about how fucked up she was and about how she constantly fucked up.
"Sometimes, I think you forget." Fin said, bringing her out of her analysis. "So, I'd like to remind you that I got your back and that I…" He stopped talking on purpose because he was seeking her attention. He knew that she was halfway listening and he wanted her full focus for what he was going to say next.
"That you what?" She asked, turning to look directly at him.
"That I love you." He replied softly with a small smile.
Olivia's eyes watered instantly and she bowed her head to look at the ground.
"Fuck you." She whispered at him because he knew good and well saying that would knock her over the edge and send her emotions sailing. She brought her right hand up to the bridge of her nose in an unsuccessful attempt to stop her tears that were already beginning to flow.
He'd told her he loved her only a handful of times. Each one had been during a moment like this, during a time when she was in dire need of hearing those three little words from someone who she knew meant them. It was the three words that she wanted to hear so badly from Elliot but wouldn't allow it.
"C'mere…" He whispered as he grabbed her left wrist lightly and gently tugged on her arm until she caved and wrapped her arms around his chest. Fin wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a protective embrace as she rested her chin on his right shoulder.
"That wasn't the response you're suppose to give back…" He told her lightly but she could hear the smile in his voice. He knew it'd always been hard for her to hear those three words and the handful of times that he'd said it to her, she'd gotten emotional almost every time.
"Fin…" She said shakily.
It was only one word, it was only his name but his understood. There was so much emotion and fear in her voice, so much vulnerability and strength all at once in the way that she said it. The word was weighted, heavy with her struggle to maintain her composure and keep herself put together long enough to make it through the hospital trip, and to get back to her apartment so she could properly break down and put herself back together again by the time she had to be at work the next morning.
"I know…" He replied to her saying his name. "I got you, baby girl." Fin soothed as his arms tightened around her. "I always got you."
After a couple minutes of standing there with Fin rubbing her back gently, Olivia took a deep breath and stepped away from his embrace. She wiped at her eyes but it was no use trying to hide her tears that had fallen.
"I'm glad you're here… you know that." Fin told her gently and she felt her eyes tear up once more.
Fin wasn't talking about her being at work, or at the precinct, or even in their SVU unit. He was referring to her being alive, to the fact that she was a living, breathing, human standing in front of him and not some aborted fetus.
Olivia had made the drunken mistake of telling fin one night after a bad case that her mother had told her she would have had an abortion had they been legal but she wasn't allowed to. Granted, her mother had been polishing off a rather large bottle of vodka when she'd told teenage Olivia Benson this, it still hurt because Olivia knew it was the truth. It was also something that she'd never told Elliot. Fin was the only one that knew, thanks to those tequila shots after work.
Beliefs had interfered with Olivia's reaction to her mother's drunken confession.
On one hand, Olivia was angry with her mother for telling her this. It was something no child should have heard from their parent or anyone in their life for that matter, but on the other hand, as Olivia got older, she understood. So, she wasn't so much angry at her mom for wanting to abort her, she was just angry that her mother had told her about it.
Olivia believed in pro-choice. She actively believes that a pregnant woman should have the right to abort her child, especially if she's been raped or the child has some sort of genetic problem or disability. If the child is going to be in pain their entire life due to a disability or genetic malfunction, why not send them on to a better place and skip the pain?
She'd also made the mistake on that same drunken night, to tell Fin that when she was a teenager, she had even agreed with her mother, wishing she'd been aborted. It would have been better than being constantly verbally and physically abused by her mother was Olivia's thoughts.
That same night, she'd cried, and Fin had cried with her. It'd been the one and only time she'd even seen that man shed a tear.
They'd ended up making a pact about how she wouldn't tell anyone he'd cried if he never told anyone about the stuff with her mom.
"I am glad you are here, Olivia." He said again, slightly rephrasing his previous statement when she didn't respond in a timely manner.
Olivia swallowed hard as she fixed what was left of her makeup while looking in the mirror.
"I know…" She whispered to him. "Me too…" She said as she threw the paper towel away and looked at him dead in the eye. He gave her a thin smile, that she also returned and then they made their way to the bathroom door.
She put her hand on it to open it but stopped briefly.
He was standing behind her at close proximity. Olivia turned her head slightly to the right so she could just see his outline in her peripheral vision.
"Fin," She said in a small voice. "I love you too… I… you keep me grounded sometimes… I'm sorry we don't hang out more…" Olivia's simply reply had turned into an apology.
"Nah, don't do that." He commanded lightly as he placed his right hand on her right shoulder. "Don't apologize. We see each other every day nearly. It's cool."
Olivia nodded and she felt him squeeze her shoulder before dropping his hand, then she opened the door to head back to the squad room.
She wasn't too surprised to find that Elliot had already left. Someone needed to be at the hospital with their vic and she had taken too long.
"Bastard…" She heard Fin mumble. Olivia turned to catch his eyes, shook her head 'no', then nodded her head towards Cragen's office, who was sitting at his desk staring at them. Fin gave her a nod of understanding. Clearly, Cragen had ordered Elliot to leave without her.
"I'm gonna go meet him at the hospital." She directed at him and then tipped her head at the captain to signal that she was headed out and she hoped to god that he couldn't tell that she'd been crying.
…
Olivia caught a cab and joined Elliot at the hospital just in time for the doctor to come out and give them an update on Gladys.
Turns out, Gladys was twenty-four weeks pregnant and apparently healthy.
Elliot stressed how much they needed to talk to her as Olivia stayed quiet, taking in all the information that the doctor had given them. The doctor refused to let them see Gladys for the time being because she was still under observation and needed rest. Olivia was relieved that they couldn't see the young woman right away. Elliot and Olivia opted to wait in the waiting room since the doctor had told them it would be long.
"You okay?" Elliot asked as they sat down side by side in the waiting room.
"Yep." She replied with a fake smile.
Elliot shook his head lightly. "You can't pull that bullshit with me…" He whispered as he casually draped his right arm behind Olivia on her chair. It'd look casual to anyone else but he'd put it there for comfort and support. "I know you better than that, Liv." He said.
Olivia glanced away and focused on her hands in her lap.
"I don't want to talk about it." She told him firmly.
Elliot nodded. "I can respect that… just know that if you do, I'm here… and even if you never do, I'm still here."
Olivia glanced at him and cast him a thin smile that told him she understood, then she took out her phone and began checking emails, reading texts, anything to get her mind off of what was going on for the moment.
In the meantime, Alex was able to get a judge to review Gladys identification of Billy even though she hadn't said his number but had bluntly pointed and yelled "that's him!"
When the doctor did finally relent and allow the detectives to see Gladys, she was in her normal clothes again, having taken off the hospital gown, and was getting ready to be discharged.
Olivia put on her detective face, not willing to let her emotions get the best of her.
"Looks like you're doing better." Elliot commented.
"I feel awesome…" Said a smiling Gladys. "Everyone here is so freaking nice." She said as she glanced around the room, a room that she'd had to herself, where she'd had a bed to sleep in and had even been served a hot meal when she'd woken up.
It was like for the first time in a long time, she'd gotten some decent rest. She hadn't been forced to sleep on a tiny couch in a room that wasn't hers in a home that she paid most of the bills for but wasn't hers either.
"But Gladys, you can't ignore the fact that you're pregnant…" Olivia piped up lightly. She wanted to make sure that if this girl was set on having this baby, which she obviously was because she was way past the cutoff date to have an abortion, that she was going to get proper care.
"I'm not ignoring it anymore." She said. "I have an appointment at the clink tomorrow." Gladys said matter of factly. "I'm taking my vitamins too. I don't think I've ever been this excited about anything…" She said, smiling as she rubbed her hands over her belly.
Olivia licked her lips and stepped towards Gladys, passing Elliot.
"But you understand that if you decide to keep the baby, you're going to have to make some big changes in your life." Olivia said almost forcefully. She'd be damned if she let this child have a childhood like she had or worse.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Gladys asked, looking at Olivia like she had two heads on her shoulders. "Of course, I'm keeping my baby…" She said as she shrugged her jacket on.
Olivia was slightly relieved to see excitement in Gladys about this child. She knew her own mother had never felt that way.
"Well, if you change your mind, there are organizations that can help with adoption." Elliot threw out there, letting the younger woman know that she didn't have to keep her rapist child.
Gladys looked at him as if he were stupid. "I won't change my mind. I want a new life and this is my chance to have it…" She said as she buttoned up her coat.
Olivia let out a sigh. This was going to be a difficult road for Gladys.
"You're giving life to the baby…" Elliot said gently, now stepping forward to be side by side with his partner. "Not the other way around…"
"I'm gonna be a good mom, I promise." She said. "I already love my baby so freaking much. I've been thinking of names and stuff…"
Olivia's eyes began to water. Either Gladys was in denial about the fact that she was carrying her rapists baby or she was just ignoring it all together. Either way, it was beautiful how she talked about this child that hadn't even entered the world yet.
"What baby?!" Came a voice and Elliot and Olivia looked behind them to see Gladys' aunt in the doorway.
"I'm… I'm pregnant…" Said Gladys in a small voice. Elliot and Olivia moved so that the aunt could make her way over to her niece.
It only took a matter of seconds before the aunt got loud and in Gladys' face. She was talking rather loudly about how Gladys lies about everything, about how she was just a screw up and probably didn't even know who the father was.
At one point the aunt grabbed Gladys by her jacket collar, in which Elliot stepped in quickly and let the aunt know that he would have none of that.
Olivia tried to butt in and tell the aunt that she should support her niece but the aunt turned around and snapped at Olivia.
"You need to butt out detective. This is none of your damn business." The aunt said.
"Excuse me?" Olivia replied quickly, cocking an eyebrow and stepping forward, and more so towering over the aunt instead of getting in her face because Olivia had a good foot on her in height. "You need to support your niece." Olivia said strongly and firmly.
"What are you gonna do if I don't?" The aunt challenged. "You need to leave!"
Before Olivia could move forward anymore, she felt Elliot's arm around her waist dragging her backwards. She grabbed at his hand but he tightened his grip and shook his head. Olivia cast the aunt a glare as she relented and went with Elliot to exit the hospital room.
"You gotta calm down. We can't collar her for anything and even if we could, Gladys would be forced to take care of her baby and two nephews… There's nothing we can do right now, Liv." He said once they were headed towards the lobby and he'd released her waist. Elliot shot her a glance, his eyes were sad. He knew she was hurting.
Olivia firmly believed that if her mother had had support, if she'd just had a small support system, then maybe things would have been okay, that they would have turned out differently.
Elliot drove them back to the precinct where they opted to have some coffee since Munch hadn't made it today.
They sat down at their desks and started working on their paperwork for the case.
Olivia couldn't get Gladys out of her head. She felt bad for her and wished there was something she could do. Maybe she could take her to a shelter? Or get her involved with an organization that helped younger, expecting mothers?
"Maybe Gladys will turn her life around and change for the better of her baby…" Olivia said softly into the squad room. Her comment was more so directed at Elliot since he was the only one there.
Munch and Fin must have gotten called out and Cragen's blinds were drawn so either he wasn't in his office or he didn't want to be disturbed.
"In my opinion," Elliot said, "The only chance that baby has is if she gives it up for adoption." He shrugged his shoulders.
"You think I would be better off if I had been adopted?" She asked lightly, looking up from her paperwork and staring him dead in the eye.
"I think I would give anything to change your childhood, Olivia." Elliot replied, giving her a thoughtful look. "I hate what you went through and what your mom put your through… I know I don't know everything that happened, but I know enough to hate her and the way she treated you." He said, resting his arms on his desk.
Olivia narrowed her eyes and knit her eyebrows together.
"Don't say you hate my mom…" Olivia said defensively, putting her pen down and leaning back in her desk chair as she crossed her arms over her chest.
A look of disbelief crossed Elliot's face.
"You defending your abuser?" He questioned lightly, now focusing more on her body language and what she was saying.
Olivia's mouth opened as a shocked expression crossed her face.
"Don't call her that!" She said quickly and probably louder than she should have.
Elliot gawked at his partner now. "She abused you, Liv. Even if I don't know the details, it doesn't take a genius to see that she hurt you in more ways than one." He said softly. "She's an abuser, who just happens to also be your mom. You don't have to defend her honor and as far as I'm concerned, she hasn't got any to defend and she never defended you." He said. Elliot was partially in disbelief that they were talking about Serena like this, especially since she was dead.
He knew there was emotional and physical abuse but he didn't know of any particular incidents. There were times that he wanted to ask but didn't.
"I know what happened to me and where I came from." She told Elliot carefully. "I'm not defending her, I'm just saying I understand some of it… the drinking, the depression… I get it. We see it in rape victims all the time."
Elliot shook his head swiftly.
"That doesn't excuse the abuse you suffered at her hands…" He said.
Olivia swallowed hard and gazed around the room just so she wouldn't have to look at him for a moment. She didn't really like talking about this with Elliot. She was already on edge from earlier.
Even though she'd had a good orgasm earlier in the day, you couldn't tell by her mood now. Any relief it had given her was gone. She was tense and tired of dealing with this case. It was draining her emotions.
Olivia ran her hand swiftly through her hair.
"Can we drop this topic?" She asked, even though it wasn't really a question. She was dropping it whether Elliot wanted to or not. Olivia didn't know what had come over her or why she'd all the sudden got so defensive about Serena. It surprised her even more that Elliot apparently had strong feelings towards the now deceased woman.
"Am I interrupting something?" Alex asked as she entered the squad room. She had heard them talking as she walked down the hall from the elevator and it had sounded pretty serious.
"No. What's up?" Olivia said, happy to end her conversation with Elliot.
"Bad news." Alex said and Elliot huffed, running a hand down his face. "Upon further review Judge Maskin rejected your lineup identification." She explained. "She wants a wade hearing so Gladys can make and official witness ID of the perp."
Both detectives knew Gladys would freak out if she had to see Billy face to face. She freaked out behind the two-way mirror.
Elliot huffed and looked at his stack of paperwork. Olivia told Elliot that she'd go see Gladys, then she gave Alex a nod as she grabbed her jacked and headed towards the elevator.
…
Olivia didn't feel right going to see Gladys empty handed. Especially when she was about to ask the woman to do something that was terrifying to her. So, Olivia stopped by a small baby store on her way to Gladys' aunt's house. She picked up a small gender-neutral outfit for the baby and a couple of gender neutral toys and put it all in a small gift bag.
When Olivia arrived at the apartment, the aunt informed her that Gladys wasn't there. Naturally, Olivia asked if the aunt knew when she'd be back.
"Not anytime soon…" The aunt replied as she tried to shut the door in Olivia's face but Olivia was quick. She jammed her foot in the door so it wouldn't close and her hand flew to the door, forcing it open.
"Did you kick a pregnant girl out on the street?" Olivia asked firmly, her Badass Benson voice and face making an appearance.
"I gave her every chance at a normal life." The aunt spat at Olivia.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Olivia asked forcefully. "You gave her a lousy sofa to sleep on as long as she paid your rent and most of your fucking bills!"
The aunt shook her head from side to side.
"Look, I got two kids of my own and disability doesn't make ends meet." She said, arguing with Olivia. "How the hell am I supposed to pay for her and her baby?"
"Not by abandoning her." Olivia stated bluntly.
The aunt shrugged. "Look," She said again. "That girl makes her own decisions and she started when she agreed to let that pimp into her life…"
"No!" Olivia said angrily, forcing the door opened completely now and standing at her full height as she walked closer to the aunt. "She was twelve years old!" Olivia said loudly. "Getting into his car was the last decision she ever made on her own!" She explained. It was taking every bit of Olivia's strength to not get in this woman's face or walk into her apartment uninvited.
"Have you ever heard of 'Breaking a Bitch'? That's what pimps do to young girls." Olivia said more forcefully than she should. The woman's neighbors were probably listening to their entire conversation by now. "They never have a chance. The pimp makes them so dependent and literally breaks their souls. None of them ever have a fucking chance, but Gladys had one now, here with you!" Olivia exclaimed.
"I love her, I do… but I was at the end of my rope and I threw her out…" The aunt explained as she started crying, as if she actually felt bad.
It took everything inside Olivia to not roll her eyes. This woman didn't know what unconditional love was.
Olivia asked where Gladys went, the aunt said she never asked but that right before she left, she used her computer. Olivia nodded, taking the computer with her to the crime lab so they could run a diagnostic test on it to see what activity Gladys had done recently. She'd called Elliot on the way and he'd met her at the crime lab.
Gladys last activity was on Craig's list where she posted an ad. It was the same place you could buy a used lawnmower… or a woman. It was a personal add with a nude picture of Gladys, with a bed comforter covering up her belly.
"Oh, god." Olivia said as she saw the add.
One person responded to it. He'd told her to come by at eight, that he and his friends wanted to go hard and raw, then he'd given an address.
Elliot and Olivia sprinted to the door, telling the tech guy to text one of them the address.
Olivia hopped in the driver's seat and threw her siren on immediately as she sped off and straight into traffic, almost colliding with another vehicle.
"Calm down." Elliot said. "Take a breath."
Olivia bit her lip and continued her rapid driving to their location that Elliot had now pulled up on his phone.
"Tell me where to turn." She commanded him.
"Easy!" He squeaked as she ran smack through a red light. They could do that of course because they were cops, but usually they'd slow down and make sure traffic saw them coming. "I'd like to get there in one piece." He said and she shot him a glare.
"Tell me where to turn." She said again as she focused on the road, speeding and honking the horn to make sure people know to move out of her way.
"It's a ways up here, I'll tell you when." Elliot reassured her. He had grabbed onto the door handle above his head and kept an eye on his navigation system as he glanced up at the road slightly fearfully.
"Babe!" He said loudly as she breezed through another red light and horns honked at them from the surrounding vehicles.
"What the fuck did you just call me?" She said in a dangerously low voice and Elliot swallowed hard. He hadn't even realized it slipped out. That wasn't something they did. They weren't on that level.
"Shit." He whispered more so to himself as he gripped the handle above his head harder.
"Shit's right. You're gonna pay for that." She said silently as she looked around herself to make sure it was clear for her to change lanes. He did not have her consent to call her pet names.
Finally, they somehow arrive in once piece to Elliot's surprise.
The gentlemen were a couple of grad students who were supposedly studying for finals but the place smelled like weed and it was clear by their attire that they had been up to something else.
Elliot kept the men busy while Olivia raced through the house in search of Gladys. When she found the woman, she yelled for Elliot.
The young woman was unconscious on the bed lying face up.
"Gladys? Gladys! Can you hear me, it's Detective Benson!" Olivia said as she stood beside the bed and attempted to get Gladys to be responsive. She gently tapped on Gladys' cheeks but still no response.
"Oh, god! Her water broke!" Olivia yelled to Elliot as she discovered that the bed was wet and lifted the covers. She heard him immediately radio it in.
"She seizing!" Olivia said loudly as Gladys started to stiffen and her back arched with her mouth open. "El, help me!" She pleaded and he made his way over to his partner, helping her turn Gladys on her side so she wouldn't swallow her tongue or choke on her vomit.
After a few minutes, the seizure stopped but Gladys was still unresponsive. Soon, the paramedics arrived and Elliot and Olivia followed them to the hospital. Of course, they had to wait in the waiting room.
"Olivia-" Elliot started but she cut him off.
"No." She said firmly, holding up her hand. "Not now. And not here."
She wasn't sure what Elliot was going to say but she didn't want to hear it. It was hard enough keeping herself together right now. Olivia was feeling a lot of emotions. Anger, sadness, fear. It was a wide range of emotions and she was trying to channel them all and deal with them in the appropriate manner.
The doctor appeared sooner than they expected.
Gladys was okay, she would survive but the baby had to be taken via c-section. The child was four months early and would need multiple surgeries plus months of care in the NICU. It was going to be a tough road for the mother and child.
Elliot bit his lip. He didn't know what to say or do. He didn't know how Olivia was feeling or what she was thinking because she wouldn't talk to him.
Everything was complicated.
"What are her chances?" A very teary-eyed Olivia asked the doctor. "The baby, you said it's a girl, right? What are her chances?"
The doctor gave Olivia a sad look. "Babies born any earlier than this, we place in hospice. I'd say this little girl has a chance of seventeen to forty percent of survival rate. She already had respiratory and breathing problems, her lungs aren't fully developed yet…"
"It still worth it." Elliot stated, speaking up. The Catholic man in him coming to light. He'd always believe in fighting for a child and while he was against abortion, he believed women should have the right to say one way or another.
"I can't say that I agree with you…" The doctor said.
"You don't think heroic measures should be taken?" Olivia asked in confusion.
The doctor gave a small shrug. "I think withholding treatment is an option…" She said.
Olivia's mouth fell open in surprise and Elliot cocked his head to the side.
"It's not an option, it's murder." He said bluntly. Say what you will about a fetus but this child is already born, it has already been brought into this world and Elliot's beliefs were very clear about that. God or no god, a child should be saved at all costs if it could be saved. That was just basic human instinct.
"Pouring thousands, if not millions of dollars into a baby who will be blind, have cerebral palsy, and severe mental retardation, you think that's best for her? That it would be better for this child to live her life in pain and suffering rather than to let her pass on in a painless death?" The doctor challenged him.
"I agree with you there," Elliot stated. "But you cannot say for sure that this child will have any of those problems, and that she will not live a normal life." He said.
Olivia still remained quiet. She was slightly in shock. There was so much going on in her mind right now and watching Elliot fight for this child that wasn't even his was Earth shaking to her.
"The odds of this baby living a normal life are very, very small." The doctor replied.
Elliot huffed and Olivia took this as her chance to speak up.
"Does Gladys know all this? Does she know the condition of her daughter?" The brunette detective asked.
"I told her but I don't think it's sunk in yet. Usually when parents get this news, they go into some form of shock. It takes a bit for them to digest the information." The doctor explained.
Elliot started pacing the floor and looking at his shoes. Olivia had nodded at the doctor's words. Then the doctor had excused herself so she could go tend to other patients.
The detectives were allowed to enter the NICU to see Gladys and the baby but only Olivia went. Elliot opted to stay in the waiting room. Whether it was because he couldn't handle it because of what had happened with Eli or he just thought it would be best to let her handle this on her own, Olivia didn't know but she went anyways.
…
"She's beautiful." Olivia commented with a big smile on her face as she walked over to stand beside Gladys and stare down at the child. "Does she have a name?"
"I don't know… I've been thinking but… I just wanna pick the right one…" Gladys said. "And I just wanna take her home."
Olivia wondered if Gladys' aunt had reached out and opened her home back up to her niece. She should have. Olivia had put the fear of God into that woman from the way she talked with her.
"The doctor said she may be here a while…" Olivia stated to Gladys.
Gladys shrugged, not really looking at Olivia. "I'm not worried… she'll be fine."
Olivia took a deep breath. She needed to make sure that Gladys was okay, or as close to okay as someone could be in this situation. There was no way any human being would be okay here.
"What if she isn't?" Olivia asked gently. "Have you thought about what you want the doctors to do?"
"Yeah… well… sorta…" The younger woman half answered. She was sad and scared. A new, young, single mother who now had a very sick daughter. It would be a tough decision for anyone to make and there is no correct choice either way.
"Your daughter is very sick…" Olivia stated. "She can't suck, swallow, or even breathe on her own…" Olivia said gently, wincing at her own words. It was sad.
"Do you think she's suffering?" She asked the detective.
Olivia took a deep breath and lifted her shoulders lightly. "I… I don't know…" She answered honestly.
"She can't die… she can't. I told them to do whatever they need to do to save her…"
Olivia nodded and wrapped her arms around a now emotional Gladys.
"It's alright, I've got you." Olivia soothed as she held her victim close. She'd told Gladys that she'd get her out of the pimp game, out of prostitution and help her but her being pregnant and having this child took things to a new level. Either way, Olivia would still do what she needed to in order to support Gladys.
…
Olivia left NICU after Gladys calmed down. Upon checking her phone, she saw that Elliot had gone back to the precinct to work on some paperwork. So, she caught a cab and went back to the precinct.
She wasn't mad that he'd left her at the hospital and he knew she wouldn't be. Olivia had spent over an hour with Gladys. The woman needed comfort and care, the motherly kind and Olivia did her best to sooth her.
"Gladys wants to use heroic measures to save her baby as of when I left the hospital but she keeps going back and forth…" Olivia told Elliot as she took her jacket off and draped it across the back of her chair.
Elliot was quiet for a moment, trapped in his own thoughts about the situation. Olivia sat down at her desk and began looking at her paperwork that she still hadn't finished.
"She wants to use heroic measures to save her child. Who wouldn't?" Elliot commented lightly.
"What if keeping her alive does more harm than good?" Olivia asked softly as she gazed up at Elliot, wondering if his faith was taking over his thinking. He'd told her he didn't much attend church anymore but that he still believed, just more undenominational and less Catholic. There'd always be a part of him that was Catholic though, he was raised that way and it was in his blood.
Elliot stood up and walked the three steps to the filing cabinet to put some paperwork in there.
"If you had kids you wouldn't be asking that question…" He said nonchalantly as he flipped through the files, trying to find the correct space to insert his papers.
Olivia felt her heart nearly stop. If Elliot looked at her, he'd be able to see shock and pain all over her face, but he stayed busy at the filing cabinet. She swallowed hard as she felt her mouth go dry.
"So, just because I'm a mother, I don't know anything and don't care about this baby?" She challenged as her facial features showed a hint of anger and her hazel eyes darkened.
Elliot looked up at her comment with his mouth slightly open, as if he had just realized his mistake. He'd spoken without thinking. He'd fucked up. He'd fucked her up.
"That's not what I meant…." Elliot said lightly as he made his way back to his desk, standing by it and staring at her, as if he was trying to figure out if this was going to be one of the memorable Benson & Stabler fights.
If it was, he deserved it for being an asshole to her.
Then she spoke again.
"What if little Eli was going to die? Or what if he was so disabled that he would be in constant pain his entire life and would need around the clock care and sedation just to survive what sad life he'd have on this Earth?"
Shots fired. And she'd hit him where it hurt.
Elliot leaned forward, bracing himself on his desk, closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath as if she'd physically punched him in the gut. He didn't want to think about Eli like that. He couldn't. It'd kill him. Especially after how they'd almost lost Eli when he was born and he was born slightly prematurely.
Olivia watched him. She wasn't enjoying his pain but at the same time, his comment had hurt her more than he could ever know. Because she was a mother. Olivia Benson had been the mother of his child. She hadn't been able to carry to term or even know that she was carrying until it was too late but, she was a mother. She'd had a baby in her belly and that was enough for her to consider herself a mother to an angel that she hadn't gotten to meet.
"I… I wouldn't play god." Elliot said, walking around his desk.
Olivia cocked her head to the side and gave him a pity look. "Then don't play doctor either." She replied.
Elliot started to walk out the doors, shaking his head and not wishing to talk further about this topic but then Alex Cabot waltzed in. He turned to look at Olivia before he left. He'd stand out in the hall and eves drop on the ADA. If she had info about the case, he'd stay and listen. If she was personal talking with Olivia, he'd leave.
"That's the second time I've come in here and felt like I've interrupted something…" Alex told Olivia as she walked towards the brunette and decided to take a seat on top of Stabler's desk.
"Yeah, well…." Olivia trailed off, shaking her head as she pushed her hair behind her ear and began to focus on her paperwork again.
"It about the baby?" Alex asked.
Olivia shrugged. "That, among other things…" She said. "What brings you here counselor?" The detective asked, using her Benson voice to usher them back onto a work topic.
"I need Gladys to testify." She said.
Elliot rolled his eyes in the hallway. There's no way that young woman was leaving her baby's side.
"That child is in NICU." Olivia said. "She's not going to leave the hospital. Her baby is still in critical condition…" She explained.
"I'm not letting Billy back on the streets." Alex said.
Olivia looked at Alex as if she were crazy. "What do you expect me to do?" She asked, leaning back in her chair.
Alex hopped off of Elliot's desk. Taking a big breath, she asked of Olivia what she wished she didn't need to.
"Arrest her for prostitution." Alex said in a calm tone, then swallowed hard because she was a bit scared of Olivia's reaction.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Olivia said a little too loudly as she stood up quickly. "You're out of your goddamned mind!"
Elliot wasn't surprised his partner was going off. He was proud of her for doing it too. He continued to lurk in the hallway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
Alex huffed. She'd known this was coming.
"Just arrest her, after the trial I'll cut her lose. No prostitution charges will ever be on her record." The ADA explained quickly.
Olivia shook her head and walked closer to Elliot's desk.
"What if something happens to the baby while Gladys is in court? What if she needs to make a decision and isn't able to because she's testifying? Of what if, God forbid, the baby dies while she's in court?" Olivia said forcefully, walking closer to Alex and almost getting in the blonde's face.
"Do you have any fucking idea what it's like to not be able to say your goodbyes to your child? To not have any fucking closure because you weren't there when your child passed on?" Olivia said loudly.
Alex looked shocked. The one thing she'd gotten better at while she was with Olivia was reading the brunette. There was something in her voice, a hint of something that Alex couldn't put her finger on.
"Do… do you?" Alex whispered lowly to Olivia as she stared at the woman in front of her.
The blonde may have whispered her words but Elliot had heard them. His whole body had gone rigid now. His ears had also picked up something in Olivia's voice. He wasn't sure what it was or where it'd come from but it was something that he couldn't place either.
He held his breath when Alex asked her question. There's no way Olivia would've had a child and not told him about it. If she would have had a child, he would have noticed her pregnancy. He was in tune with her and had been their entire partnership. He knew when she went to the doctor to get her birth control shot for fuck's sake.
She could've gotten pregnant as a teenager, Elliot supposed. It happened to a lot of young girls but still, he felt like she would have told him, or he hoped she'd trust him enough to tell him.
A beat of silence passed where he heard nothing from either woman.
"I am not arresting her. I won't do it." Olivia said calmly. She must have taken a few deep breathes because she sounded better now and less pissed off.
She'd dodged Alex's question.
Alex gave Olivia an apologetic look.
"It's not from me… it's not my orders." The ADA stated. She'd fought to not have Gladys arrested, she'd gone to bat for the woman that she didn't even know and had only briefly met.
Olivia's face changed.
"They're orders from higher up?" She asked lightly.
Alex nodded.
"Shit." Olivia said.
Orders from higher up had to be followed. There was no challenging them or going against it. It was non-negotiable.
"I… I don't know if I can do this, Alex…" Olivia hesitated, running her hand through her hair and taking a deep breath, gazing around the squad room wishing there were more people in it like Fin or John who's volunteer to do the arrest for her.
"I'll do it." Elliot said as she walked back into the room and was immediately met by two angry glares from a blonde and a brunette since the women had just realized he'd been eves dropping probably the entire time.
Elliot didn't wait for them to speak though.
"I'll do it or we can do it together, Liv." He said, offering his support to his partner. "Come on." He stated, walking around Alex to grab his jacket off his chair and Olivia grabbed hers. She cast Alex a glance before she walked out of the room.
…
"How's the baby?" Olivia asked with a smile as she walked up to Gladys. Elliot kept his distance and positioned himself by the doorway. Olivia had decided once they got there that she wanted to talk to Gladys.
"She's good." Gladys replied. She hadn't moved from the same spot Olivia had left her in when she'd previously left the hospital.
The younger woman was sitting in a rocking chair perched beside the NICU clear box that her baby was being kept in.
Olivia crouched down on the floor and put her hand on Gladys' knee. She was going to try to talk the young woman into testifying so she wouldn't have to arrest her.
"Gladys," Olivia said gently. "I need your help…" Gladys looked at her questioningly. "I need you to testify…" The older woman said.
Elliot watched as his partner tried her best to convince the younger woman to go with them willingly.
Gladys let out a small laugh in disbelief.
"I can't leave my baby, Detective Benson. She's critical, she could…. I can't leave her right now."
Olivia winced at her next words. "Gladys, if you don't, I'll have to arrest you for prostitution…" She said. "Please, please don't make me do this. Don't make me arrest you." Olivia begged, looking up at Gladys from her position of kneeling on the floor in front of the younger woman.
"I am not leaving my baby." Gladys said firmly, staring Olivia down, then turning to give her attention back to her child.
Olivia huffed and stood up slowly, then she back tracked towards Elliot.
"I can't do it…" She whispered to him as she passed him and walked out the door. Elliot nodded in understanding and made his way over to Gladys to read her her rights and put cuffs on her.
Olivia was waiting by their squad car outside when he brought Gladys down. They escorted her to the court house instead of sending her to booking, which had been the plan all along.
On the stand, Gladys explained in detail exactly what had happened with Billy, but his attorney nearly tore Gladys apart.
Olivia and Elliot sat side by side a she testified.
Billy's lawyer called Gladys out on all her mistakes including dropping out of the eighth grade, being a prostitute, and having anonymous street sex while she was twenty-four weeks pregnant.
Her eyes went wide on the stand like she was realizing just how many mistakes she'd made and how much she'd screwed up.
Olivia could only watch in sorrow. She felt so bad for this woman, and so deeply connected to her at the same time. Elliot reached his hand over and rested it on her lower thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze.
She shot him a small smile, silently thanking him for the comfort.
Alex objected and the judge suggested that Buchanan stick to question, not statements. He finally finished questioning the young woman and Alex stood up to take her turn. She was going to try her best to show the jury that Gladys was a victim and not a criminal like the defense attorney had suggested.
"Mr. Buchanan wants to talk about you being a criminal, so let's do that." Alex said as she stood up. Her back was straight and her hair was perfect. Her glasses were on and her court suit was stunning. She was in full-fledged ADA mode.
The blonde looked exceptionally good today and Olivia cocked her head to the side a bit, gazing at Alex, the woman that she had been with so many times during their complication relationship. Even though Olivia practically hated the woman, she still loved her body. They'd never sleep together again, Olivia's head and heart wouldn't' allow it, but she could still look.
Out of the corner of her eye, Olivia saw Elliot looking at her. She turned her head to see a huge grin on his face. He knew he'd caught her slightly checking out their ADA. It made him wonder how he hadn't noticed that the two women had been fucking on and off for two years.
"Stop." Olivia said silently to him as he squeezed her leg again and she rolled her eyes at him, letting him know that she didn't feel like taking his shit about Alex right now.
Olivia huffed as Alex began her questioning.
"How long were you under the control of your pimp?" Alex asked.
Gladys looked shy and ashamed. She recoiled into her body and looked down at the ground.
"Since I was twelve… so ten years." She said in a small voice.
Alex nodded, trying to keep her voice calm but firm. She needed to sound caring and supportive so Gladys would open up to her and feel as comfortable as possible, but remain strong and firm so that the jury could see that she was a confident ADA.
"How many nights a week did he force you to work?"
"Five…"
"How many men did he force you to have sex with each night?"
"Um…. At least six…." Gladys answered in a small voice. She didn't want to remember what she'd done, who'd she'd done.
Alex wasn't sure if Gladys had PTSD or not but she hoped to god that she wasn't triggering the young woman on the stand.
"You were twelve. Just a child, you couldn't consent to any of what was happening to you," Alex stated and looked towards the judge and then the jury. "And let the record show that even if she could consent, Gladys has already stated that she did not want to have sex with any of them, and that she tried to get away from her pimp but he beat her multiple times." She explained, making sure the jury was keeping up with her. "So, because you could not and did not consent, you were raped numerous times."
Gladys nodded and glanced around the room, her eyes locked with Olivia's for support. Olivia gave her a sad smile and held her gaze until Gladys was ready to look elsewhere.
"Then would you say that you were raped at least a total of thirteen thousand times over those ten years?" Alex asked. Gladys' eyes shot to Alex's crystal clear blue eyes and she took a deep breath.
Gladys had never thought of it like that. She'd always put it out of her mind but Alex was correct.
"Yeah…" Gladys said in a small voice and biting her bottom lip.
"And that would make your baby a product of rape?" Alex said gently as she walked closer to Gladys.
Olivia felt her heart speed up and her breath hitched in her throat. Elliot removed his hand from her knee and instead, put it behind her shoulders, resting it on the courthouse bench. He allowed his hand to lightly grip her shoulder where his hand rested. He knew this was hard for her, that it was bringing up painful memories.
"Yeah… yes, it would." Gladys said sadly. She'd known deep in her heart that it was true, she'd just been ignoring it. She'd envisioned telling her daughter that her father was a one-night stand or something to that effect.
"I hope I cleared things up for you. That is a victim," Alex said, talking to the other attorney and pointing at Gladys. "And that is a criminal." She said, pointing now at his client.
Alex took her seat.
Billy went insane. He tried to attack Gladys but the security guard tackled him. He was escorted out and court was dismissed.
Gladys had been escorted out by another officer. When Olivia found the young woman in the hallway, she was pacing back and forth while running her fingers through her hair. It was clear that she was stressed and freaking out.
Elliot kept his distance. He was far enough to be out of the way and not involved but close enough to hear and see them. He was concerned about Gladys but his true concern remained with his partner. Elliot was making sure that if Olivia needed him for anything at all, that he could come running.
"Hey." Olivia said as she swiftly walked up to a panicky Gladys. "Cabot dropped the prostitution charge just like we promised. You're free to go." Olivia explained, hoping it'd relieve some of the young woman's stress.
"Everything that man said about me in court is true…" Gladys said as tears filled her eyes. She'd ignored Olivia's statement about the prostitution charge. She clearly didn't care much about it anymore and was more concerned with herself and her child, as she should be.
"That's not you anymore, Gladys." Olivia tried to sooth the younger woman by touching her gently on the arm. "That's not who you are. You've turned a page and that's all behind you now."
"It'll never be behind me…" Gladys said. "What am I supposed to tell my baby when she grows up? What do I say? Your mom let hundreds of men rape her daily and no one knows which one is your father?" She said as tears made their way down her face. Olivia was a bit stunned at Gladys' words. For a moment, she wondered if her mother had ever tried to plan on telling Olivia that she was the product of rape.
Serena had gotten semi drunk, well not even drunk, it was more so like she was tipsy. Then she'd told Olivia when she was about twelve, Serena had terribly explained that Olivia was the product of rape. It didn't go well for either woman but it'd made a lot of sense to Olivia as to why her mother never said those three words she desperately wanted to hear or why she treated Olivia like shit half the time. Olivia understood the abuse more.
"Gladys," Olivia said, grabbing the younger woman's shoulders and bending her own knees slowly so she could see eye to eye with her. "I'm the product of rape…" Olivia said in a small whisper. "And I'm okay, I'm just fine."
It was a small lie but Olivia could be a lot worse off. Plus, Olivia being the product of rape isn't what screwed her up. It didn't help and it weighed heavily on her, but she could deal with it. It was her mother's constant emotional, physical, and psychological abuse that had really fucked her up.
"W-What?" Gladys stuttered.
"Yeah…" Olivia said, giving Gladys a small smile and gently rubbing the younger woman's shoulder. "I am. It sucks, I'm not gonna lie. It sucks and it's something that wasn't easy to grow up with knowing but it all depends on you, Gladys. You have to be there for your daughter. Be there for her, love her unconditionally. She had no part in your rape, don't punish her for it."
Gladys reached up and wiped her eyes as she nodded.
"I just… I don't know what to do." Gladys said as more tears leaked from her eyes.
Olivia shook her head and smiled.
"You love your little girl, that's all that matters." The detective said.
Elliot looked at the scene in front of him. It always warmed his heart to see Olivia Benson when she was working with victims.
"If you make the right decision now, your daughter will understand when she's older…" Olivia said and Gladys leaned in for a hug. It was short and sweet but it was a hug that Gladys had needed.
"Yeah…" The younger woman said. "The right decision…"
Then Gladys gave Olivia a small, sad smile and they said their goodbyes as the younger woman left.
Elliot walked over to Olivia, joining her as they watched Gladys leave the court house.
"You okay?" He asked, dying to put his hand on the small of her back but he wouldn't, he couldn't, not here.
"Yeah, I think I'll be fine."
Elliot gave her a small smile and nodded as they both turned to exit the court room and head to their squad car.
I wrote wayyyyy more than I anticipated so it looks like there's gonna be a third part. Love the reviews.
Haha also, there's one reader that keeps asking me to just make them fuck. It will happen eventually but it's far away as of right now. Sorry.